"Hasn't anyone ever told you that you're not supposed to drink alone?"
He didn't even look up. "I wouldn't be good company right now."
Stella shrugged. "I'll take my chances."
She took a seat next to him, motioning for the bartender and ordering a drink. As they sat in silence, she glanced over at him. She was so used to seeing him smile, and seeing his eyes sparkle, that it was a blow to see him so downcast His eyes were dull and tired as he stared down at his scotch, and his shoulders slumped wearily Stella found that her fingers were itching to brush back his hair, to run through it as she tried to comfort him. But they were coworkers, and that would be crossing a line.
The case had been a hard one, and it had been the most difficult for Flack. It was bad when anyone you knew was involved in it, but Stella knew from personal experience that it was even worse when it was someone you cared about and respected. Don had been forced to put his mentor in handcuffs, and that was a scar he was going to carry around for a long time.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Stella finally asked.
"No." He paused, draining his glass. "You're gonna make me anyway though, right?"
She sighed. "You need to talk to someone, Don. Would you rather it was Danny or Mac?"
Flack turned to look at her, his blue eyes piercing. The alcohol had put the color back in his cheeks, but he still looked like a lost little boy. Stella wanted to know what was going on in that head of his, and she wondered just how far he'd let her in.
"You askin' as someone who works over me...or as a friend?"
The question surprised her. She and Flack had worked together for just over a year now, but she had never really thought about whether they were actually friends or not. Now though, as their eyes met and she saw just how much pain he was in, Stella realized that she at least wanted to try. Reaching out, she squeezed his hand.
"A friend, Don," she whispered. "A friend."
He nodded, staring at their hands for a minute.
"You wanna take a walk?" he asked.
Stella gave him a small smile. "I'd love to."
The night air was warm, and there was the slightest of breezes blowing off the river. The two detectives walked closely, so that if either of them leaned in just a little, their shoulders would touch. For a long time they moved in silence, the sounds of the city at night bustling around them.
"I don't know what to say," he finally murmured.
"I could tell you to use feeling words," she replied, a smile tugging at her lips.
Flack chuckled quietly at that, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm not as sad as I was earlier," he said, growing serious again. "And I don't hate myself anymore for arresting him. I did what I had to do."
Nodding, Stella stole a glance at him. "Yes. You did. So what are you feeling now?"
"Angry."
She stopped, turning to face him as he did the same. "At Moran?"
"Yeah."
Though she thought she knew the answer, Stella had to hear it, just as she knew that Don needed to say it.
"Why?"
Lowering his head, he seemed to think about it before answering. When his eyes met hers again, they were no longer dull or empty. There was a fierceness behind them that she wasn't sure she'd seen before.l
"He was a fool."
The vehemence in his voice caught her off-guard. "What do you mean?"
"He had it all, Stell - a good job, a family. But because of some stupid mistake he made sixteen years ago, he's gonna lose it all."
"But that's not why you're mad."
Flack gritted his teeth and shook his head. "He lied to me, Stell. He looked me straight in the eye and he lied to me."
That was what she had been waiting for. More than anything else during that case, it had been the betrayal that had been eating away at him. A man who had mentored him, looked out for him, had turned his back on everything that Flack believed in. And now that his world had been flipped upside down, he didn't know what he was supposed to do.
"He was my friend," he whispered.
Stella couldn't help herself. Taking a step forward, she wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight. For a brief second he stiffened, but then he took a deep breath, letting his body relax into hers. They stood like that for a long time, breathing each other in while the warm breeze moved through their hair.
But then the mood of the hug changed, and Stella slowly opened her eyes. Flack's body was warm, and she was sure that it was getting warmer. He shifted his head slightly, letting his face nuzzle into the crook of her neck. Stella could feel his lips mere inches from her skin, at the same time that one of his thumbs dipped under the hem of her shirt. Mentally cursing, she tried to bring her body under control, surprised at the way she was reacting to this man's touch.
Flack must have felt it too, because he pulled back. As his eyes searched hers, Stella realized that he was every bit as shocked as she was. Slowly - she thought it might have been reluctantly - he slid his arms off of her, putting an appropriate distance between them once again.
"I should go," he said quietly, his voice low and his eyes dark.
Stella nodded, giving him what she hoped was a warm smile. "I'm glad we're friends, Don."
He grinned, and she was suddenly sure that he was much better than he had been when she found him.
"Me too, Stell." Leaning in, he kissed her on the cheek. "G'night."
He turned and walked away, leaving Stella to stand there with one hand pressed against the spot where his lips had touched her skin. She wasn't quiet sure of what had just happened, but she was certain that befriending Don Flack had just opened a very interesting future.